DFA vows to help Pinay raped in Kuwait

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople expressed his "deep personal outrage" yesterday over the rape of a Filipina in Kuwait last week and said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will mobilize its resources to ensure the welfare of the victim and criminal liability of her assailants.

Ople has summoned the charge d’affairs of the Kuwaiti embassy in Manila to push for the prosecution of the gang rape suspects.

Ople said he has directed the Philippine embassy in Kuwait to provide full legal assistance to the victim.

"We will provide all the cooperation that the Kuwaiti government might require in this matter," he said.

Ople issued an aide-memoire to the Kuwaiti embassy detailing the summary of the meeting and its highlights.

"I have asked the charge d’affairs of the Kuwaiti embassy in Manila to come to the department so I can convey to the Government of Kuwait our urgent and strong desire that the perpetrators of this heinous crime be brought to justice. We will provide all the cooperation that the Kuwaiti Government might require in this matter," he said.

Ople said he had directed Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for special concerns Rafael Seguis to coordinate with the Philippine embassy in Kuwait and Kuwaiti authorities for the speedy resolution of the case.

He declined, however, to reveal further details about the victim, saying that "in cases such as this, we do all we can to protect the honor and privacy of the victim."

The Arab Times reported last Tuesday that nine of the suspects were apprehended and positively identified by the victim.

It was reported that the suspects admitted to the crime after they were positively identified. - Marvin Sy